


Glimpses

by Yadirocks



Category: Baseball RPF
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-23 18:04:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15611934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yadirocks/pseuds/Yadirocks
Summary: "Hi, I'm Adam.""Hi, Adam. I'm Yadi."





	Glimpses

"Hi, I'm Adam. Nice to meet you."

Yadier stopped mid-throw, unable to hide the smile that spread onto his face as he said, "Hi, Adam, I'm Yadi. Good luck this year."

He tossed the ball to Adam, glad to see him smiling again. It had been a long time since he had seen that smile. Months and months had gone by, yet another offseason in the books. Yadier didn't like to think about how it brought him one year closer to his retirement. He had too much on his mind already. One of his favorite parts of Spring Training, though, was seeing his best friend again. Of course, by the end of the season, they would be sick of each other and they would be grateful for the several months away that they would have. Right now though, Yadier was relieved to see the familiar face. There weren't too many of those anymore.

They didn't speak for the longest time, which was unusual for Adam. His pitches were a lot better this time around. He looked like the old Adam again, the one that he had always believed in and told Adam was still there, even when the pitcher was at his lowest. It had been hard the last few years, to watch his best friend struggle and not have an answer for him other than that he would find it again soon. Each year for the last three years, Adam had came back the same, lacking more confidence each time. 

This year seemed different. Adam stood a little taller, the way he always used to when he felt he was in control. He topped out at 98 miles per hour. He hadn't done that in several seasons. Yadier nodded, smiling at his friend and giving a laugh when Adam did a dance move on the mound. "I'm bringing sexy back, Molina, it's no laughing matter," Adam called, a teasing look in his eyes. Yadier felt a sudden ache in his chest. He hadn't realized how much he had missed seeing his friend happy. 

Adam stopped smiling when he saw the look on Yadier's face. "What? Did I bust it too hard?" he asked, crossing the distance between himself and Yadier. Yadier stood, shaking his head both as an answer to Adam's question and to shake himself of the sudden feeling of sadness that he had encountered. "No, it's not that. Though, I will admit, you're a bit rusty there," he jested. "Let's take a break and talk. We never just get to sit and talk anymore, and it's not like there's anyone here to tell us no. It's just us."

It was true. Strangely, there was no one around, not even the wandering rookie that had no idea where to report for practice. It was just himself and Waino. Yadier decided that he wouldn't worry about the reasons for this rare peace and instead followed Adam to a picnic table nearby. Adam sat across from him and began talking about his trip down to Georgia over the summer. Yadier tried to nod and listen, but something felt off. Something hurt, deep inside of him, and he wasn't sure why. Was he actually hurt? Was there something that was just on his mind that kept distracting him? What was the cause for this sudden ache?

It was only when he had taken off his shin guards that he realized Adam had stopped talking. Yadier looked up to see that the pitcher was staring at him expectantly, as if Adam had asked him an important question and he had missed it. Yadier blushed in embarrassment, and he whispered, "Sorry. I was....my mind wandered."

Adam smirked. "I noticed," he said, folding his arms on the table. "What's going in that head of yours?"

Yadier shrugged, playing with one of the adjustable straps on his glove, even though he knew that he would have to readjust it later. "I don't know," he whispered. "Honestly....I know that I am happy for you. I am happy that you're smiling and...just...you again. In every aspect. You're you when you pitch again, you're you when you talk again, you're you when you mess with me again. I know I'm happy, but I just feel an ache deep in my heart."

Adam stared at him for the longest time. Yadier sighed. "I know. That sounds crazy."

He kept kept his eyes averted to his glove, which now lay uselessly in his lap. When he looked up, Adam wasn't sitting across from him. He was confused, until he felt arms wrap around him, and he let himself fall into the hug. "You always sound crazy to me," Adam whispered. Yadier laughed, but found he was choked up at the same time. What was wrong with him? "Thanks, I guess," he whispered back. 

Adam pulled away, and he whispered, "Thank you for always believing in me. I'm going to miss seeing you every day."

Yadier's smile slowly turned into a frown. "Wait...what do you mean? You're going to see me every day."

Adam returned the smile, but his was sad. "Wake up, Yadi," he said, and Yadier felt everything start to fade. In a panic, he reached out to grab Adam as he began to slip away too.

"Come on, Yadi, wake up."

Yadier's hand caught a shirt, and could've jumped for joy. He opened his eyes, expecting to see Adam standing right where he had been before, that this was somehow just some big prank that the pitcher had pulled on him. Instead, it was Carlos Martinez standing over him, and he realized the young pitcher was shaking him. As he regained his bearings, he realized he was laying on the couch in the clubhouse at Roger Dean Stadium. He started to remember now. He must've fallen back to sleep before he went out for his early run. And that ache in his heart....

He looked at Adam's locker. It had another name on it this year. He closed his eyes again, feeling the sadness wash over him. It was just a dream. He wished with all of his heart that it hadn't been. 

"Are you okay?"

Yadier almost forgot that Carlos was in the room with him. He opened his eyes again, and he cleared his throat before whispering, "I'm fine. Thank you for waking me."

He sat up, rubbing eyes of sleep. Carlos moved out of the way. "Yeah...no problem," he said. "Anyway, Mike said he would like you to catch for one of the rookie pitchers today, some guy named Warner. You in?"

Yadier nodded, and said, "I'll be there in five minutes."

He stood to go get changed into his uniform, but a hand grabbed his wrist. He turned once again to Carlos, who said, "Yadi, I know you don't like talking, but...just wanted you to know...I....I'm here for you if you need anything. You've always been there for me."

Yadier smiled, putting his hand on Carlos' shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "Thank you, Carlos. I appreciate that. I am always here for you as well," he said, giving the young pitcher one last pat on the back before heading for the bathroom.

After Yadier had finished getting dressed, he made his way out to the bullpen, where he saw Mike Shildt observing some of the battery pairs for the day warming up. When he saw Yadier, his face lit up, and he met him halfway to give him a handshake. "Good to see you again, Yadi. How was your offseason?" Mike asked, and he fell in step beside Yadier. 

"It was good, but I'm glad to be back," Yadier said, his eyes once again searching for that familiar face before he had to remind himself that it wouldn't be there this year. He didn't realize at the end of the last season just how hard it was going to be to not have Adam around. It had been 12 years since his last Spring Training without his best friend. It was more difficult a pill to swallow than he thought it would be.

He felt Mike's eyes on him and realized he hadn't spoken the entire time that they had made their way to the other end of the bullpen. "You seem distracted, Yadier," he noted. "What's going on in that head of yours?"

He froze, the familiarity of those words hurting his heart like it had been shot. Then, he found himself admitting quietly, "My best friend retired. I miss him."

Suddenly, he was pulled from Mike's side and was spun around until he landed on his back in the grass with an 'oof'. When he opened his eyes again, he had to blink to make sure he wasn't dreaming again. Adam had him pinned to the ground, a big, wide smile on his face. "I knew it! I knew you would miss me! I even heard you say it!"

Yadier shook his head. "Did not!" he argued, struggling against Adam's hold. Adam sat on his stomach. "Fine, then I guess we will just sit here all day until you admit that you missed me. I've got all day, since I'm retired," he said with a smirk. 

Mike laughed and walked away, taking with him Yadier's only hope of escaping Adam's gloating. "Say it," Adam said, laughter in his eyes. Yadier decided then that he wasn't scared to say it. He wasn't scared to tell Adam that he had missed him. He wasn't scared of his bragging or how he would never let him live it down. He was more scared of not having around at all.

"Okay. Fine. I missed you," he said with a laugh. Adam smiled, rolling off of Yadier and offering him a hand to help him up. Once Yadier was standing, he was pulled right back into Adam's arms for a hug. "Want to know a secret?" Adam asked.

Yadier whispered, "Bring it."

"Hi. I'm Adam."

And for the first time in a long time, Yadier didn't feel the ache in his chest as he whispered, "Hi, Adam. I'm Yadi. Great to meet you."


End file.
